Gregory looked at his watch. "One-forty-five."
"They're going to meet Aiden." She turned to Gabriel. "You've got to stop them. Please. Go after them."
"Where?" he asked.
"The rocks by the river behind my house."
"Greg, get back to my place and tell Finn," Gabriel said. "See how many pack members you can find. Willem, you and Ulf see who's still at Tooley's. We'll need some strong teeth tonight. I'm calling a Judgment." The boys took off.
"Vivian, you get that kid out of there before Astrid shows up. I'll round up whoever's at your house, then I'll be right behind you in time to meet Astrid."
"No," cried Vivian. "I can't go."
Gabriel stopped in his tracks. "Why, for the Moon's sake?"
"He's frightened of me," she said. "He won't listen to me."
"You told him," Gabriel said. His tone was resigned, as if he'd already guessed.
She nodded miserably. "But only about me, no one else," she explained in a rush. Sweet Moon, she hadn't signed his death warrant, had she?
Gabriel took a deep breath. "Not good, but not the worst of our problems right now. We can't risk another body showing up in our territory, especially if there are others who know that he was meeting you. Chase him out of there if you have to."
An ache swelled in Vivian's throat. "But what if he's going there to kill me?"
"If you don't, he may be the one to die. Do you want that, Vivian? You wanted him as a mate, remember. We don't abandon our mates."
He abandoned me, she cried inside. But Gabriel was right. She owed Aiden help. His life was in danger because of her.
"Come on," she said. "We're wasting time."
They raced up the river side by side, their backs to the tardy moon, and Vivian wished she could lope on all fours, but if Aiden saw her in fur it would terrify him. When the rocks rose ahead, their paths diverged, and Gabriel sped to her house. It was then she saw two shapes, close to the ground, come coursing down the meadow. Even in moonlight she could tell that one was foxy red.>Finally they were all gone - all except Astrid and Rafe, who leaned against a garden wall across the street and groped at each other shamelessly.
Vivian turned away in disgust and saw someone coming - a male. Had one of the pack forgotten something? She inhaled sharply. It was Peter Quincey. Why was Aiden's best friend walking down her street?
Chapter 26
26
Peter Quincey stopped short when he saw her on the path.
"You were looking for me, Quince?" Vivian asked, trying to sound casual. There was no sign of his usual easy grin, and she felt a pang of regret that he could no longer smile at her.
"Yeah. I mean, no," he said. "I was gonna put this note through the door." He held up an envelope in his right hand.
"From Aiden?" Hope fluttered through her like birds' wings.
"Yeah. God knows why." His caustic tone pained her.
He thrust the note at her, and she snatched it away. She tore open the envelope and read greedily. It was an invitation to meet Aiden that night at the rocks down by the river. "Be there at two A.M." he wrote. She would have cheered but for the words at the end: "For the sake of what we used to have, I hope you'll come." Used to have, she thought bitterly.
"He can stick his note up his ass," she said, and shoved the letter at Quince's face.
Quince grabbed it in self-defense, tottering back a step, and she was rudely pleased to see him look ungainly. "You know, I liked you at first," he said, "but you're a real two-faced bitch." He crammed the letter into the pocket of his baggy shorts and retreated down the sidewalk.
Vivian yelped a humorless laugh. He was too witless to know the truth of his words.
Across the street Astrid and Rafe now stared her way with mocking leers on their faces. She gave them the finger before she went inside.